Mark 7:31 — Community Reflections

MARK 7:31 — KING JAMES VERSION 0

“And again, departing from the coasts of Tyre and Sidon, he came unto the sea of Galilee, through the midst of the coasts of Decapolis.”

Then Jesus left the vicinity of Tyre and went through Sidon, down to the Sea of Galilee and into the region of the Decapolis — the routing through Sidon before returning south to Galilee and the Decapolis is geographically unusual — Sidon is north of Tyre, making the route circuitous. The extended Gentile circuit communicates that Jesus is not merely passing through Tyre but conducting a sustained ministry in the Gentile regions before returning to Jewish territory. The Decapolis was the site of the Gerasene exorcism (chapter 5) — the territory where the Gerasene man was commissioned to testify.

Church Fathers on Mark 7:31

The Lord did not wish to stay in the parts of the Gentiles, lest He should give the Jews occasion to say, that they esteemed Him a transgressor of the law, because He held communion with the Gentiles, and therefore He immediately returns.
Theophylact · 11th century

Decapolis is a region of ten cities, across the Jordan, to the east, over against Galilee [ed. note: It appears, however, from Reland, Pales. v.1, p198, that a portion of Decapolis, including its metropolis, Scythopolis, was on this side Jordan, and therefore this text of St. Mark may be taken literally.] When therefore it is said that the Lord came to the sea of Galilee, through the midst of the borders of Decapolis, it does not mean that He entered the confines of Decapolis…
Bede · 8th century · in Marc., 2, 31

A city, however, placed on a hill cannot be hid, and lowliness always comes before glory.
Pseudo-Jerome · 5th century

Read all 12 entries in the readerCatena Aurea · St. Thomas Aquinas, tr. J. H. Newman · public domain

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